A Bond
by Starberry-Cupcake
Summary: [The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Universe] During her shadowing of Pemberley Digital, Lizzie and Darcy find themselves looking at the sunset and sharing some honest feelings. Can these two opposites find a bond that joins them together? Are they really that different, after all?


**Warning:**** This Fic takes place in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries universe**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own The Lizzie Bennet Diaries; if I did, I would be very proud of myself.**

**Pairing:**** Lizzie/Darcy, of course.**

**Raiting:**** K+, just a bit of fluff and a lot of feelings**

**When it takes place:**** During the Pemberley placement, somewhere after episode 80**

**I was (and still am) very insecure about writing for this fandom. People here is extremely creative and write some amazing things, I don't think my English skills are enough to make justice to this web series, but I have too many feelings for it, so I'm obliged to try. I hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

**A Bond**

He was not used to people _not_ liking him. Or, in other words, he was not used to people telling him with so much freedom and without any consideration whatsoever that they did not like him. That they _hated_ him. That he was the last man in the world they would ever fall in love with. He was definitely not used to that, at all.

It was not that people usually loved him, of course not, but ever since he was young he was used to people acting with some sort of, at least, respect around him, even if not with genuine honesty. When he was a kid, he was "so bright for his age", he heard people praising him and his abilities, although his parents never bragged about him. Aunt Catherine did, actually, but his parents would have loved him the same if he was not "brilliant", as his teachers called him. To be honest, when he was a kid, he truly disliked that people were always so impressed with what he did. Not only because he did not feel he was really that special, but also because they raised the bar too high for him and, as a consequence, for Gigi too.

He was hoping that graduation may give him a bit of freedom. That when all the required studies for someone in his position were completed, he could enjoy a period of true self discovery, before the company was passed to him by his parents. But then, the accident happened. And with it, the admiration and praises, half honest and half lies, turned into looks of pity and condolences. From that moment on, no matter how hard he worked, he would always be Pemberley's youngest CEO, the boy whose parents died and left him the company, poor young Mr. Darcy.

But he did work hard. Not to try to stop the looks, but because of two reasons that were crucial to him: because he needed to keep his parent's legacy alive and because of Gigi. When his parents died, Gigi was still young, and many people around him, especially aunt Catherine, doubted he could take care of her as she "deserved". His aunt did many comments on how a young woman should be educated, asked him constantly how she was doing, and William knew that her comments weren't just undercover critics or for mere curiosity: they were threats. If Gigi didn't get the life she should, as a Darcy, then her education had to be handled by someone who could provide it, someone like aunt Catherine herself. And William Darcy was not going to be separated from the only family he had left, not just for himself, but also for her. That was one of the reasons, maybe the strongest reason, why aunt Catherine never found out about what happened with George Wickham. That man had caused enough damage already as to be, also, the reason why Gigi's education had to be supervised by Catherine De Bourgh.

So, those two reasons where basically why William Darcy, the youngest CEO of Pemberley, changed the company for the better and created a new era for the enterprise. That was why William Darcy could not have a break and kept working almost nonstop, almost "robot-like". That was why William Darcy believed in social classes, because if he were to be seen with a woman who didn't belong to his, not only he would jeopardize the place in the company and example to Gigi his circle thought he should have and be, but also because the lady in question would be judged even more harshly than himself. She would be judged just as hard as he and Caroline Lee judged Jane Bennet. And if he loved her so much, would he be capable of putting her in that place? Would he be selfish enough?

After thinking it over, considering it for a long time, seeing her bright eyes in his dreams and her smile in his memory every time he let his mind wonder away from his work, he decided his feelings were too strong to ignore them. It meant such a great sacrifice, such an important step for him, that he didn't stop to think what would happen if she didn't feel the same. Maybe because he was used to, at least, respect from the people he had around; or maybe because he had already been too selfish and hadn't left his own perspective, how great a deal it meant for _him_ to put aside everything in order to be with her. And, after hearing her saying those words to him, with so little compassion or consideration for his feelings, he felt the world did not make sense anymore.

On one side, he was hurt, _truly_ hurt. He loved her, honestly, with a passion and admiration he didn't think possible for someone he had met not that long ago. He wasn't, never had been, the type of guy who fell for a girl so fast, with having shared a bunch of conversations and not a single date. Without knowing enough of her life, her background, and a sum of other things a man in his position should know of a woman he met so randomly. He was not like Bing, who trusted people so easily, thought the best of them without even knowing them. Nevertheless, he did fall in love, head over heels, with Lizzie Bennet, and he had no doubt about it. In spite of that, she had crushed his feelings, no matter how rare those were for someone like him, no matter what they meant.

And then, he felt angry. Angry because she hadn't listened to him, hadn't tried to understand, had preferred the version of _George Wickham_, the man who nearly ruined both his and his sister's lives, without even having proof to valid that what he claimed was true. She had taken a side without even asking him first, she had made assumptions and judged him so harshly, not considering that she didn't really know him. She had assumed that his behavior was that of a man who feels above the rest when, in reality, he felt so scared of how to speak to her, so insecure about how to be her equal that he stumbled with his words because he didn't want to disappoint her, he wanted to show her how much he respected her. As a result, she saw his fear and insecurity as arrogance and egocentrism.

But, as his thoughts drove him to that direction, he also felt at fault. Because, even if she was not completely right, she had seen what he had showed her. It was his incompetence in social interaction, his insecurity, what had made her think that of him. And, truth be told, there was some truth in what she said: he had been arrogant, arrogant enough to assume that she would say yes to him. How could she, if she was so…so…

"Amazing" she said, almost in a whisper, and brought him back to the present.

He looked at her, beside him, her eyes shining with surprise, her smile brightening her countenance. It didn't matter how much sadness, anger and misery her rejection had caused him, just looking at her face with that honesty of hers made him fall all over again. Impossible as it may be for her to feel the same.

"I'm glad you like it" he said, with a smile he couldn't fight back.

It was Gigi's idea, of course, that he brought her to his favorite spot in the city to see the sunset. When he was feeling confused and stressed out, which was more often than it should; he rode his bike, and one of those times, he found this place. It was shortly after his parents had died, and it was one moment in which the hills had not been unforgiving to him, because it was by going through them that he had found this spot.

"It never fails to make me feel less conflicted, this sight" he said, looking at the horizon.

* * *

She had been feeling conflicted alright. All the thinking about Bing and Jane, about what she should or shouldn't do, how much she should or shouldn't interfere, was driving her out of her mind. Not only that, but she still carried a bad feeling about the whole Lydia debacle. Even if she decided that she was not going to attempt mingling into Lydia's business anymore (or even watching her videos), not after the book issue, she still had the feeling that she was leaving something out of place. As if her "sister sense" was alerting her that something was wrong, that there was something she didn't do or was missing out on. She let it go, it was probably the feeling of how they parted last time they saw each other, not in the best of terms. Still, it was there, that feeling, insisting every day.

She was determined, though, that she was not going to interfere with Lydia anymore. She had tried, the internet was her witness, but it didn't work. There was no way she could get inside Lydia's head and there was a point where it was enough. It was her parents' task now, to try to put Lydia in her place, not hers anymore. If Jane was right, she was missing out on her own life and she had to go out and start living it. Find her place in the world.

But still, her "sister sense" was taking its toll on her, both for Jane and for Lydia. Some days, even if Gigi was good company and, surprisingly enough, Darcy could be too, she felt lonely. And tired, very tired, even if she still had a lot of work to do with her thesis. So, with the conflicts and the studying on her mind, she had run into Darcy and he suggested they take a walk to this place, where they were standing, looking at the sunset.

She was not sure how she was going to mention it on her videos, or to Charlotte, for that matter, without the words "sunset" "walk" and "Darcy" leading to ideas that were far from what was really happening. But, just for now, she was going to enjoy the peace and quiet, see the sun go down and forget everything else.

"I hope your conflicts are not related to your stay in Pemberley" he said, not looking at her.

Lizzie wasn't sure how to interpret that, she didn't know if he was truly concerned or if the fact that she may have conflicts with _his_ company bothered 'responsible CEO' Darcy.

"No, not really" she said, finally.

"Good," he sounded relieved "I feared, at the beginning, that my presence could disturb you, after all that happened…" he seemed to find the ground below him very interesting "I really never meant to make you feel uncomfortable"

And there was _him _again, 'nice guy' Darcy. She was there, invading his space and privacy, and he was worried that _she _might be feeling uncomfortable, as if _he_ was willing to leave his own company just to make _her_ feel better.

"No, not at all" she said, awkwardly "It's just…sister issues, I guess…and life…"

"Yes, life can be quite ruthless sometimes"

She looked at him then, saw his eyes lost in the sunset, and just knew he was thinking about his parents. She couldn't even begin to understand what he might have felt, what he could be feeling then, and not even guess how he might have done all he did despite the limitations life had put him through.

But she had thought she knew. She had thought she understood him well enough to blame him for things he hadn't done, or had done with other intentions, had said intending other meanings. And here he was now, being nice and selfless. As if she didn't have enough things to feel conflicted about.

"I know where your worries with Jane's situation lie, but what happened between you and Lydia?" he asked, truly concerned "I hope my words did not…I did not mean to…"

She knew exactly where he was getting at and she had no energy to go there right then.

"No, things with Lydia have always been complicated…it's not like with Jane, that we understand each other so well" she sighed "Lydia is another world, one I can't even try to understand" she shook her head in defeat "We're just _too_ different"

Darcy took some seconds to answer, as if he was carefully gathering the right words.

"I certainly can't tell you about Lydia in particular, but I can tell you something about being an older sibling" he smiled "Even if we don't look for it, the things we sometimes say or do, or even stop saying or doing, can affect our siblings more than we know of. Even if we think ourselves unworthy of being looked upon, we are some sort of example to them, whether we like it or not. And, sometimes unintentionally, we can raise standards to them that we are unaware of. I have worked hard to do the things I did, for different reasons that are unimportant to this conversation…" he looked away "but, because of the place she was born in and my position, Gigi has high standards to fulfill that make her sometimes be too hard on herself. It was that low self esteem, that insecurity, which drove her so…dependent on George Wickham, who told her exactly what she needed to hear in order to manipulate her. And I was too focused on my own path to see the problems she was facing on her own."

"But Gigi and Lydia are nothing alike" she argued "Not only I'm not as successful as you are," she said, with a bit of harshness to her tone "but also Lydia's self confidence is _extremely_ high"

"Are you certain of that?" Darcy asked, looking at her "Are you sure that she always says what she means? That she isn't hiding her insecurities under all that…energy?" he looked away "I'm sorry, I think it's not my place to ask…" he sighed "But even if Gigi hid her insecurities differently, she still did it and it took a limit situation to make me _really_ talk to her and understand her, notice what I was not seeing"

Lizzie knew that he was referring to Wickham when he mentioned a "limit situation", he didn't have to clarify it, his tone and look were enough.

"Now Gigi and I understand each other even better than before, because I remembered then that, even if my parents aren't around anymore, I'm still her brother and not just her guardian" he looked at Lizzie then, with honesty "I don't mean to say that your situation is like mine, I ignore a lot of things about your relationship with Lydia, but it is true that sometimes we ignore how much our actions mean to our siblings and how we can easily overlook what they truly feel. I think Lydia might not be completely what she seems to be." he smiled.

"How do _you_ know?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Because I do know you and, as you pointed out before, I misjudged Jane. You both have honest hearts and, now, I'm positive that your younger sister does too."

Lizzie couldn't help but smile at that, as much as he was smiling. She could get used to 'nice guy' Darcy, to be honest. He seemed to know the right things to say, after all, when he wasn't completely awkward to say them.

She ignored how much time they spent like that, smiling and looking at each other, as if they were tied by an invisible string and frozen in time, but when she realized they still were, she cleared her throat and looked at the setting sun again, that was about to fully disappear under the horizon.

"This is a lovely place" she said, looking away "Thank you for sharing it with me"

* * *

She didn't look at him then, she was too scared, confused, conflicted to do so. So she just looked at the sun, setting before her, shut that voice in her head telling her not to do it, and slowly moved her hand towards his, searching for it in the air, without looking at him. She couldn't look, she would second guess herself, break this moment. And, honestly, she didn't want to.

He made it easier for her, actually. He saw what she was trying to do and hurried, maybe a bit too fast, his hand to hers. He didn't do anything else, though, scared of breaking the moment he had been waiting for: the moment they finally understood each other.

She felt his hand in hers and something changed, a jolt of electricity ran through her, as if that was exactly what she needed. She dismissed it as if it was just the support, the fact that she was holding someone's hand, not necessarily _his_; but her body didn't believe her mind's excuses as she squeezed his hand, because it was exactly what she needed. She would deny it later, when she remembered this moment or shared it with Charlotte, but right now she didn't have the energy to lie to herself, to not admit that, after what he said, she connected with William Darcy and it was _his _support what she needed.

They were going to walk back to Pemberley and go back to their own offices, to finish their work for the day and return to each of their homes. They were going to pretend that this moment wasn't _that _important, that it hadn't changed things between them. They were going to talk to each other as they had before, not mentioning this occurrence again, as if it didn't mean what they both knew it meant: that a door opened, that they weren't two separate worlds after all, that they _understood each other_.

But, for now, they were leaning on the other for support, since they both needed it, holding hands and looking at the sunset; and anyone who went through that spot and saw them could easily see they shared a bond, even if both of them preferred to pretend they ignored it.

**Fin**

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**Well, I really hope it was good enough for the fans who found it! I wanted to write a bit on Darcy's perspective, of his background, but I decided to take Lizzie's perspective as well in the middle and go from there until I sort of joined them in the end, when they finally "bonded" (that is why it's separated in 3 parts, in case you haven't noticed already xD).**

**My thoughts on Lydia and her situation are much bigger than what this little fic could contain, and I didn't want to go off topic (this was a fic about Lizzie and Darcy, after all), but I wanted to include a bit of that and make it a part of the bond.**

**I hope the series covers a bit more of Darcy's past and background; mixing the PD site info and the original P&P Darcy's story, I'm assuming some stuff but I'd like to know!**

**I hope this wasn't that bad xD I'll read you later!**

**Luly**


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